nation with no permanent cure. The answer thus lies in the prevention of the heart disease and prevention is probably the only cure.

Our Healthy Heart Program is a holistic program which teaches you about your heart disease risk factors and how to modify them to prevent a heart attack. The recommendations, as you will discover, are quite simple. We provide you with accurate information upon which to base intelligent decisions. Our goal is to dispel the fear of illness by making the subject of heart disease easier to understand, so that you can take the required preventive measures well in time and save yourself from untimely expenses & emotional loss.

Having seen what a powerful difference changes in diet and lifestyle can make, we want our program to be available to those who most need it the most ( i.e. the heart patients or those who don’t wish to undergo Heart Surgery or Ballooning but have been advised these procedures in the past, or those who have undergone these procedures but want to prevent further blockage, and for those who have modifiable risk factors like high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, obesity etc.)

Through healthy lifestyle changes—proper nutrition, moderate aerobic exercise & yoga, stress management and Professional  support from our Panel of experts including Heart specialists, Lifestyle Consultant & Nutritionist—the LiveLifeMore’s Healthy Heart Program improves the health and well-being of Program participants so they can live better. 

What we promise is scientific knowledge in a format that does not require a medical degree to understand. We guarantee that following the healthier lifestyle taught in the program, you will sharply reduce the odds of developing health disease or make it less harmful, if we have already been diagnosed to have it. Utilizing the information imparted in the program, you will be able to modify your modifiable risk factors for heart disease ( listed bellow) and improve chances of living longer and healthier.

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR HEART DISEASE
There are a number of cardiac risk factors which dramatically increase the chances of developing heart disease. The more risks a person has, the more dramatic this increase can be. Risk factors can be divided into those which modified and those that cannot as follows:

These causes can be divided broadly into two categories
Modifiable or Reversible Causes:
The modifiable factors are those which can be altered and prevented so that the progress of the disease can be checked.

Non Modifiable or irreversible causes:
The non-modifiable factors can not be altered and they remain as such. However their adverse effect can be minimized by taking extra care of the modifiable causes.

Hypertension:
Hypertension or increased blood pressure can affect the coronary arteries, brain, eyes and even the kidneys. High blood pressure has extra strain on the heart and the arteries supplying blood to the body parts .In a majority of the people, hypertension does not produce any symptoms. These people are ignorant about the presence of this disease. Hypertension is rightly called the "silent killer".

Diabetes Mellitus:
Coronary artery disease is common in diabetics. Diabetes can affect all parts of the body but mainly the vascular system.

Diabetics have an increased level of triglycerides and a low level of HDL (good cholesterol). The LDL (bad cholesterol) is more easily oxidized, which makes a diabetic person more prone to arterial blockages. Diabetes leads to a lot of complications important being atherosclerosis. Increased glucose level affects aortic wall metabolism.

Stress And Risk Personality:
Stress makes the body to absorb more of cholesterol and also causes a decrease in the level of HDL. Excessive stress can lead to increase in blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol in the blood, concentration of fat in the blood, deposition of fat and cholesterol in the arteries, and spasm of coronary and other arteries. Stress can influence the body in such a manner that even in the absence of other risk factors; a person can be prone to coronary heart disease. Type A personality people are more prone to constant anxiety and suffer from the effects of stress.

Smoking:
Smokers are more prone to develop heart disease than non-smokers. Nicotine in a cigarette is a nerve poison which causes the heart to beat faster and less efficiently. Carbon monoxide inhaled deprives the heart muscle of oxygen and directly poisons the heart muscles. As a result, not only does the heart beat less efficiently, it but also has a lesser capacity for recovery in the event of a heart attack.

Cholesterol:
It is believed that a high level of cholesterol in the body leads to blockage in the coronary arteries. LDL is the form of cholesterol that delivers fat to all the body tissues. Even then LDL is called the bad cholesterol. It is bad cholesterol when it is in oxidized form. HDL is important for the body as it protects those who have an increased level of cholesterol from atherosclerosis.

Cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dl indicate a relatively low risk of heart disease, but the risk doubles for people with cholesterol levels over 240 mg/dl. Blood cholesterol levels depend on age, gender, heredity, diet, and weight. Overweight or obese people are more likely to have cholesterol elevations or abnormal values for other blood fats. In addition to cholesterol, abnormal triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol levels can increase the risk of heart disease. These levels are often affected by excess body weight, and should be tested in people who are overweight or obese. It is possible to have a normal cholesterol level, but abnormal triglyceride and HDL levels. Triglyceride levels should be below 150 mg/dl, while HDL (often called the good cholesterol) should be 35 mg/dl or higher.

Obesity:
Obesity is defined as the condition of being overweight, with excessive accumulation of fat in various parts of the body. Obese people have more chances of having high blood pressure and diabetes which leads to blockages. It also forces the heart and circulatory system to work harder.

Obesity may accelerate atherosclerosis (a condition in which deposits of fatty substances form inside an artery and obstruct the flow of blood) and its effect is more prominent before the age of 50. Overweight is a significant risk factor for angina because the frequency of angina is five times higher among obese patients than among persons with normal weight..

Lack of Exercise ( Sedentary lifestyle):
Exercise is as important as breathing, especially for those prone to heart disease. Increased chances of coronary heart disease are related to lack of physical exercise, and sedentary occupation. Lack of exercise also precipitates the onset of other diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity and joint disease, etc., and contributes to very low fitness and flexibility levels.

Isolation:
Social isolation leads to stressful situation. It is simple to believe that feeling of being abandoned does not affect the occurrence of disease and is not a contributory factor in causation of disease. But this belief can't stand the test of times as humans have feelings. Being neglected or isolated or dejected does bring trouble if not sooner. It is easier for doctors to prescribe drugs on pathological level but it becomes a challenge when dealing with changes in emotional level. How easily we can recognize the feeling of anger but at the same time we over look towards the feeling of isolation.

It is important for us to interact with each other, to socialize, to participate in group or family discussions, to share our innermost feelings and secrets. This opening up of heart will remove the feeling of isolation and will help not only in preventing heart disease but also in reversing it.

Isolation brings on stress, sickness and later lead on to some organic changes in our body. Feelings like friendliness, love, compassion, companionship gives us happiness, peace, calmness and it removes negative emotions.

Blood Factors:
At present there is no formal recommendation for changing the levels of these substances. A toxic amino acid derived from animal protein called homocysteine also damages the arteries. One of the clotting factors, factor 7 has shown to increase the chances of coronary artery disease. An increased level of Fibrinogen is another risk factor for development of cardiovascular disease as this blood component helps in promoting blood clotting. When the level of PAI-1 increases, a decrease in fibrinolytic activity happens, this causes the blood to clot more easily.

Lack of Antioxidants:
Antioxidants help in reducing the bad effects of LDL and lipoprotein which have a significant detrimental effect on the coronary arteries.

Inflammations and Infections:
Though certain studies show it to be so, it has yet to be proven that chronic inflammation is one of the risk factors.

NON MODIFIABLE CAUSES

Gender:
Men have a higher heart rate of heart attacks as compared to the pre-menopausal women. The ratio gets balanced when women attain the menopausal age: usually, older women are prone to heart disease as compared to the men.

Genetic Predisposition:
Hereditary factors are involved in pre-disposing some families to this disease. The occurrence of heart attack is commonly seen in many members of the same family. But the role of common environmental factors cannot be ruled out. The heredity effects are seen among patients in the form of excessive production of cholesterol and triglycerides in the liver.

Age:
Heart attacks usually occur beyond the ages of 40 or 45 years, but it is not unusual for it to occur below the age of 40 years. Nowadays maturity of heart patients does fall under the category of young people. The occurrence is associated with a strong family history of hypertension, high blood cholesterol and diabetes, faulty lifestyle and smoking etc.

Some eye opening facts about risk factors
Individuals with a BMI(weight in Kg/height in metre²) of at least 30 have a 50% to 100% increased risk for death compared with individuals at a BMI of 20 to 25. Mortality rates from many causes are higher, but heart disease is the primary one. People who are obese have almost three times the risk for heart disease as people with normal weights. Being physically unfit adds to the risk. Obesity appears to pose a risk to the heart regardless of its obvious association with other heart risk factors, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

High Blood Pressure. Hypertension is the health problem most commonly associated with obesity, and the greater the weight, the greater the risk. While hypertension carries its own serious risks for stroke and heart attack, overweight people with high blood pressure are also at increased danger for enlargement of the left heart chamber, a major risk factor for heart failure. The link between obesity and high blood pressure is complex and may reflect interactions of genetic, demographic, and biologic factors. Many studies have reported that modest weight loss is beneficial for reducing existing blood pressure and the risk for heart failure.

Unhealthy Cholesterol Levels. The effect of obesity on cholesterol levels is complex. Although obesity does not appear to be strongly associated with cholesterol levels, among obese individuals triglyceride levels are usually high while HDL (the so-called "good" cholesterol) levels tend to be low, both risk factors for heart disease.

Stroke. Obesity is also associated with a higher risk for stroke.

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